Cerebral Palsy Technological News

Latest Developments and New Technology that Can Help Cerebral Palsy patients

Cerebral Palsy New technology allows for targeted intervention to improve movement
Jan 2, 2004 - Drug Week

(NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Individualized interventions use new advances in assessing movement to increase mobility for people with cerebral palsy, according to Alberto Esquenazi, MD, an expert in physical medicine and rehabilitation.
"Medical science has ways to help children and adults with cerebral palsy increase their potential, improve their quality of life and function independently," said Alberto Esquenazi, MD, chair of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at MossRehab and Albert Einstein Medical Center and affiliated with the department of rehabilitation at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. "We cannot cure their brains, but we can make their lives better."
Esquenazi spoke at an American Medical Association media briefing on advances in neurology in New York.
"We use computer technology - similar to the technology being used for computer animation, virtual reality and computer games - to help us more accurately analyze individuals' movement problems," said Esquenazi. "This technology lets us look at the complexities of each person's physiological system and helps us to see changes that we may be able to make to help improve mobility and, ultimately, improve their quality of life."
The computerized movement, or gait analysis, provides an objective measure of what needs to be corrected for each individual. A number of interventions that relax or lengthen muscles or correct muscle spasms are used to correct movement and posture problems. These therapies include drugs that relax the muscle and treat spasticity, like diazepam, which has a generalized relaxant effect on the body and brain. Other drugs, such as dantrolene, interfere with the muscle contraction process.
Another way to improve outcomes is to give injections of a drug directly into the spinal column. One such drug that has been delivered this way is baclofen, which blocks the signals to the muscles that tell it to contract. This drug is useful for treating spasticity. Delivering baclofen directly to the spinal column may make it more effective and can help avoid some of the side effects that occur when it is taken orally.
Other interventions include chemically blocking nerves, which can be done with agents such as botulinum toxins (type A or B), alcohol and phenol (a chemical agent similar to alcohol). Blocking the effects of nerves can help a muscle that has habitually been contracted to relax, providing more movement. "Chemo-denervation [blocks] should be used in the very early stages, because they often help us avoid surgery," said Esquenazi. Surgical intervention is used to lengthen tendons or muscles or to transfer tendons.
Cerebral palsy is a term used to describe the aftereffects of damage to parts of the brain that control movement and posture. This damage often occurs before birth, but usually does not progress; however, the effects on movement and posture persist. Cerebral palsy is often characterized by habitual contracture of muscles, affecting movement and posture. It is estimated that only 10-20% of children in the United States with cerebral palsy acquire the disorder after birth.
Computerized movement analysis, or gait analysis, is not only used to assess an individual's movement problems - it is also used to measure the success of treatment outcomes. "The problem is that we can't change the brain," Esquenazi noted. "We can, however, change results of the action of the brain. Having trouble walking or holding things in your hands can make people more dependent. Improving mobility increases ability to live independently in the community. Our goal is to keep people healthy, mobile and independent."

Source: http://www.intellisearchnow.com/pwrpub_view.scml?ppa=6ikplWZgljlqotZUfb%7D38%7Dbfej%5B%22

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